Alberta bassist and composer, Rubim de Toledo, combines the influences of his Brazilian heritage and his dedication to the jazz tradition, to create an approach to music that is refreshing and uplifting. Boasting a diverse rhythmic palette inspired by world music, jazz, and contemporary music, a lure towards improvisation and a forward-looking traditionalism, Rubim nurtures a commanding sound and style as a bassist, soloist, and composer.

Rubim began his professional career in Edmonton at the age of seventeen performing with Albertan Jazz legends, Tommy Banks, PJ Perry and Clarence “Big” Miller. Since then he has become a sought-after sideman and a productive bandleader.

With his fifth and newest release, “The Gap,” Rubim distinguishes himself as a composer with a unique ability to explore jazz styles while maintaining a sound that is modern yet inviting. Featuring internationally renowned drummer Jason Marsalis on half the record, and Albertan mainstay Jon McCaslin on the other, along with pianist Chris Andrew, the disc boasts inventive acoustic jazz trio arrangements embellished by compelling solo improvisations.

Rubim has worked extensively as musical director with Calgary’s Decidedly Jazz Danceworks. He is a passionate music educator and serves as the section head of the bass department at MacEwan University.

In 2018, Rubim won the Western Canadian Music Award for Jazz Artist of Year and was nominated for a 2018 Edmonton Music Award.

Quotes

"Rubim de Toledo: a Canadian from Alberta, of Brazilian origin and a well-established musician. Like many modern improvisers, his influences are diverse; that said his music fits squarely into the Jazz mainstream. The first thing to grab me was his big rounded tone, gifting the tunes with a richness and beauty that captivated from start to finish. While most bass sits deep within the mix, de Toledo’s voice spoke clearly; not by overcrowding his band-mates nor by punching through the others as an electric bassist might, but because every musical utterance sounded right. His melodicism and clarity of ideas were enhanced by devices which I found appealing; his occasional and appropriate use of vibrato at the end of a line, sometimes, rarely, he combined this with a slight bending of the note. He is definitely a successor to the Evans trio model; a bassist who communicates as an equal." - Concert Review - John Fenton, Auckland, New Zealand (read more at jazzlocal32.com)

"Edmonton’s Rubim de Toledo has shown himself to be one of the most consistently inspired musical tailors in Alberta jazz, an excellent, in-demand bassist, a gifted composer-arranger and a smart bandleader, too." - Edmonton Journal (2017)

"De Toledo fuses the rhythmic styles of Latin American music and post-war American jazz evoking, Heitor Villa-Lobos, contemporary salsa, Charlie Parker and John Coltrane –The eternal challenge is to innovative material that is thoughtful, challenging, accessible, listenable and enjoyable. Rubim de Toledo’s The River is all of that" - Legacy Magazine

"It knocks me out, first for how de Toledo's writing and arranging sets up tasty harmonies, then for the depth of intuitive playing and the excellent sound that captures it, and finally for some intangible element we'll just call soul" – Roger Levesque